AUBURN HILLS -- Michael Curry seemed like just another guy on a 10-day contract when Joe Dumars first met him.

But it wasn't too long before Dumars recognized that Curry was, well, different.

Even in his younger days, Curry was not known for his quickness or leaping ability. But he more than made up for that by being a tough, physical player who had an uncanny knack for making the right decisions.

And unlike many players on 10-day contracts, Curry wasn't timid, in either his play or his attitude toward teammates who weren't executing properly.

"Most guys that come in on 10-day contracts don't try to come in and exhibit leadership skills," said Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. "They're just trying to survive. He came in talking, 'We need to do this, do that' ... OK, this guy's got some leadership skills. He'll be out of here in 10 days, but he's got some leadership skills."

Dumars was wrong.

Curry got a second 10-day contract with Detroit. He wound up spending five of his 11 NBA seasons playing with the Pistons.

The more time Dumars spent with Curry the player, the more impressed he became with Curry the person.

"It was clear to me and anyone who had been around Michael for some time that this man has great, great leadership skills and would make a great NBA head coach someday," Dumars said.

Curry's leadership skills played a pivotal role in Dumars' decision to hire him as Flip Saunders' replacement. Unlike most first-time head coaches, Curry inherits a team that's poised to make a run at an NBA title.

"I'd much rather have it that way, than taking over a team that's rebuilding," Curry said. "It's pressure, but it's good pressure."

The Pistons are coming off a sixth consecutive trip to the Eastern Conference finals. They failed to advance to the NBA Finals in each of the past three seasons. They return all five starters from a year ago, but the starting lineup will look different.

Power forward Antonio McDyess, who started 78 games last season, will return to being a key reserve off the bench. McDyess is replaced in the starting lineup by fourth-year forward Amir Johnson.

"We think that he (Johnson) can be an X-factor type player, a guy that can make plays above the rim, athletically, on the defensive end and the offensive end," Dumars said. "He's a young guy that has more athleticism, more speed and energy than anything we have up front. Where we are as a team right now, it's imperative that we have a player on the floor like that right now."

Second-year guard Rodney Stuckey will join McDyess and Jason Maxiell in the regular rotation off the bench. Brown, Arron Afflalo and Walter Herrmann are expected to see action as well, although their minutes are expected to fluctuate depending on the opponent.

While Detroit was expected to make a major shake-up to its roster, the biggest change turned out to be the hiring of Curry.

Although Curry has been involved with the NBA for 14 seasons, his only coaching experience came last season as a Pistons assistant.

But he is quick to tell you that he was a coach on the floor when he played.

"He was definitely like a coach out there," Pistons guard Richard Hamilton said. "When I first got here, he was the guy that showed me the ropes, showed a lot of us like me and Chauncey (Billups) and Tay (Tayshaun Prince), what a leader should be like."

Curry said his leadership skills were shaped by his parents. But as he got older, he found himself drawn to positions of leadership. In high school, Curry joined the ROTC program. By the time he graduated, he was Lieutenant Commander of his battalion.

"ROTC was really good for the discipline," said Curry, who gave serious thought to attending The Citadel instead of Georgia Southern. "I realized then how hard you had to work to get to the officer's position. I enjoyed being a leader, being in charge. Whether it was a squad leader or just over a group, like at football games where you guard the gates. I just wanted to be the guy in charge. I enjoyed it, craved it and just worked to put myself in position to do that."

Part of being a good leader is the ability to work with others. Curry got first-hand experience when he was selected for Georgia Boys State, a comprehensive one week course in state and local government, after his junior year of high school. It was held on the Georgia Southern campus.

"It's like you're running your own state for a week," Curry said. "They divide you up into two different parties. You go over all your different laws, in the House and in the Senate. Where you stay, you're in a certain county and the hall that you stay on is a certain city."

Being able to work well with others has not been a problem for Curry, who has represented the player's union as their president, and was later hired as Vice-President of Player Development for the NBA's Development League.

"I always thought I'd be working for him someday," quipped former Pistons coach Rick Carlisle, who now coaches the Dallas Mavericks. "If he would have stayed there (NBA office), he could have ended up being the commissioner someday. You just kind of know with Michael, he's going to do well."

Doing well in Detroit takes on a different meaning compared to most NBA teams.

When asked whether he has any goals other than winning an NBA title this season, Curry responded, "not here. That's the standard we measure ourselves to. I have no problem with that."